Digital Games
Annotated Bibliography - Curation and Preservation of Digital Games
Justine Bailey, Rachael Bussert, Margaret Diaz, Ardith Ohka, and Erin Vader
Banks, T. (2011, April 21). Art of digital preservation seeks to save cyber heritage. Design Week 26(15), 7. Retrieved from http://www.designweek.co.uk/art-of-digital-preservation-seeks-to-save-cyber-heritage/3025784.article
This UK-based article previews a series of symposiums held in 2011 where the preservation of digital artistic materials, including video games, was going to be discussed. One of the leaders of the project, Dr. David Anderson from the University of Portsmouth, argues that while migrating or adapting files from an older version to a newer version is a popular option, it is not easy or cost-effective. Especially with more high-level technology such as video games, it is actually more beneficial to transfer or virtualize the technology by using a separate component that links the new and the old hardware. Furthermore, not only is there a logistical hurdle prolonging the process to preserve these materials, but there are also legal and bureaucratic passages to navigate in order to be able to even begin the process.
Barwick, J. J. (2012). Where have all the games gone? : An exploratory study of digital game preservation (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/10222
In her thesis Barwick explores the significance of video games to cultural heritage. Her research investigates both the cultural and technical issues associated with digital game preservation. In her study Barwick asks whether digital games are worth preserving, who are the people or bodies currently preserving digital games, and finally, who are the stakeholders. Barwick also identifies potential barriers to the preservation of digital games and makes recommendations for future digital game preservation.
Barwick, J. J., Dearnley, J. J., & Muir, A. A. (2011). Playing games with cultural heritage: A comparative case study analysis of the current status of digital game preservation. Games and Culture, 6(4), 373-390.
This article focuses on case studies from three institutions which are attempting to preserve videogames. These institutions include the Strong National Museum of Play, the National Videogame Archive in the United Kingdom, and the Computerspiele Museum in Germany. The study concluded that all of these institutions struggle with the long-term preservation, exhibition,interpretation and selection of digital games. The authors make the point that it is not the museums’ responsibility to solve all of these issues and the primary concern for these institutions is on how to exhibit the games to the widest range of people and how games can act as a resource to future generations. These authors conclude that in order to have digital games withstand the changing times, a more committed strategy must be developed between the academic community, digital game industry, and heritage institutions.
Christopher M., T., & Jerremie, C. (n.d). Game as book: Selecting video games for academic libraries based on discipline specific knowledge., The Journal of Academic Librarianship, doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2013.07.002
The authors state that academic libraries are beginning to see the scholarly value of collecting video games for study but choose games based on format. As a different option, they could be collecting video games based on their value to the discipline. Video games should be viewed as tools to a discipline’s study in much the same way as books. While video games may not be the best source of knowledge, they can add understanding as another resource to aid in the study of areas such as history. The article argues that the main ideas of collecting video games in libraries, such as preserving, curating, cataloging and storage have been discussed but the selection criteria is flawed in its emphasis on formats and genres over content.
Coleman, S., & Dyer-Witheford, N. (2007). Playing on the digital commons: collectivities, capital and contestation in videogame culture. Media, Culture & Society, 29(6), 934-953. doi:10.1177/0163443707081700
In this article the focus is on commons or areas that are not owned by an individual but are instead shared, in video and computer games. It cites examples of this such as games developed and distributed for free or games that are pirated. The history of commons in land usage is compared to the commons created by the internet or digital games. Because some people believe that information belongs in the commons, piracy is an issue in the US and throughout the world. One focus of the article is on “abandonware” or games that are no longer available. Some websites run pirated versions of old games. While this is illegal, some people feel that the people running these sites are “renegade archivists of an ephemeral art form” and they believe the sites themselves have helped drive the commercial success of retro gaming.
Conley, J. (2004). Use of a Game Over: Emulation and the Video Game Industry. Northwestern journal of technology and intellectual property, 2-2. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/nwteintp2&id=265&collection=journals&index=journals/nwteintp#265
In this white paper Conley examines the legality of emulators to preserve digital games. He discusses the legal battle between the makes of emulators and the video game industry. Opponents to emulators contest that it is piracy as it contributes to the creation and use of ROMs rather than the original games. Defenders of emulators argue that it is imperative for game preservation. Conley ends his paper with a discussion of the potential monetary gain for the game industry should they mass produce emulators for their own software and consoles.
Decker, A., Egert, C., Phelps, A., & McDonough, J. (2012). Technical properties of play: A technical analysis of significant properties for video game preservation. Proceedings from the 4th International IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Games Innovation Conference (IGIC 2012) (pp. 56-59). Rochester, NY.
This paper acknowledges the extreme challenges facing video game preservation. Due to the complex nature of the games and the requirements to play the games (specific consoles and hardware), preservation of this type of digital material is different than any other digital object. The authors focus on the “significant [technical] properties” that need to be examined in order to preserve digital games. These include anything about the game that makes it what it is in a technical sense. These properties are evaluated to find out if they can be preserved. A layered approach is emphasized with emulators, virtualization technologies, and migration techniques to help the preservation process run thoroughly.
Doyle. J., Viktor, H. & Paquet, E. (2009). Long-term digital preservation: preserving authenticity and usability of 3-D data. International journal of digital libraries, (10) 33-47. doi: 10.1007/s00799-009-0051-7
This article discusses the need for more work on the issue of preserving 3-D data, such as video games. The authors feel that recreating games using hardware from the modern era so that older data can be viewed now in the same way it was viewed when it was created—also known as "emulation"—is the most effective and efficient method of preserving games. The authors also emphasize the importance of preservation metadata, which describes semantic information so that future generations know how the software and hardware work and so that they can continue to access the material that is preserved today, and they offer a series of questions that should be answered in the metadata.
Eichner, A.W. (2013). Game over, insert coin to continue: Entering a new era of video game intellectual property enforcement. IDEA: The Intellectual Property Law Review, 53(1), 101-130.
This article discusses the changing way that intellectual property laws affect video games. The courts have decided that people who buy a copy of a video game are licensees, not owners of the software, and this affects what they can do with that software. This would seem to apply to those looking to preserve video games and make them available for future users as well. Video game makers want to make money, so they would probably have something to say about how their games are preserved and made available. While it isn’t specifically discussed in the article, it seems as though this could greatly hinder efforts to preserve games, especially by those with limited funds for licensing.
Enis, M. M. (2013). Saving Games: Video games, quickly changing touchstones of digital culture, present significant preservation challenges. Library Journal, 138(17), 44-47.
This article raises the importance of videogames as a cultural artifact and that preservation of these games are crucial, not only for the purpose of preserving the videogames, but also for the field of digital preservation. The author discusses three major challenges associated with videogame preservation, standard issues, which include issues found while preserving most types of data, the console challenge, which complicates the preservation process further, and lastly server shutdown, which is problematic for online community games. Future plans for videogame preservation are also considered, such that software developers are using machinima and social sharing networks to post clips of the games and game developers are beginning to embrace the overall idea of preservation.
Feinstein, K. (1997). A philosophy on the preservation of videogames. Videotopia [website]. Retrieved from http://www.videotopia.com/edit1.htm
This may be one of the first online resources regarding the topic of video game preservation. The website in itself is a preserved piece of digital history—a website from the 1990s still in its original form. Videotopia is an exhibit which displayed the history of video games and allows patrons to experience older and obsolete games. In the article, the author iterates that video games have been largely ignored within the archival and computer technology communities. He explains that because of the cultural impact of video games, they are an important part of history and deserve to be preserved just like anything else.
Guttenbrunner, M.; Becker, C.; Rauber, A.; & Kehrberg, C. (2011). Keeping the game alive: Evaluating strategies for the preservation of video games. International Journal of Digital Curation, (5)1, 64-90. Retrieved from http://www.ijdc.net/index/ijdc/article/view/147
This article discusses some of the challenges of preserving not just the way that console video games look but how they feel and work for the player. In addition to problems with changing the storage system from media such as cartridges to newer formats, the video games need to be playable, preferably in the same way in order to replicate the experience of playing them when they were new, which requires the use of specific types of hardware (controllers, etc.). The authors discuss the differences between migration (moving the code to a new system) and emulation (recreating the game and the experience of playing it as closely as possible without necessarily maintaining the original code in its entirety). The latter is not necessarily strictly considered "digital preservation," as the data itself is sometimes changed, but it's an important part of preserving program behavior rather than just the program itself. The article details several different strategies for preserving video games and evaluates their usefulness.
Guttenbrunner, M., & Rauber, A. (2012). A Measurement Framework for Evaluating Emulators for Digital Preservation. ACM Transactions on Information Systems, 30(2), 14.1-14.28. doi:10.1145/2180868.2180876
The authors focus on the importance of emulation in preserving complex digital objects. Assessing both the digital objects and the overall process of emulation is an important factor when determining whether emulation, and which type, is the correct choice for preservation. When evaluating the digital artifacts, the authors look at many different characteristics that are crucial to preserving the artifact completely, specifically description of the artifact. Through the discussion of various levels of emulation, rendering information, and the development of evaluation framework, the authors establish a thorough understanding of how emulation can best be utilized.
Guttenbrunner, M. (2007). Digital preservation of console video games (Doctoral dissertation, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria). Retrieved from http://www.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~becker/pubs/guttenbrunner_games2007.pdf
This article discusses various types of video game consoles and other hardware and then details the advantages and disadvantages of using emulation (recreating the game and the experience of playing it as closely as possible without necessarily maintaining the original code in its entirety) as a preservation strategy and then describes the "PLANETS preservation planning approach" to digital preservation. PLANETS activities include defining the requirements for a preservation project, evaluating various options for preserving the content through the use of experiments, and then considering the results of the evaluation phase. The authors of this article apply this approach to video games and recommend emulation as a viable strategy for preserving video games.
Gooding, P., & Terras, M. (2008). Grand Theft Archive: A quantitative analysis of the state of computer game preservation. International Journal of Digital Curation, 3(2), 19-41.
The authors summarize the current methods of digital game preservation, the cultural issues, and also the technical issues faced. Many people believe that it is not important to worry about preservation because the technology is still so new, however there has already been a great deal of loss associated with digital games and the authors quantify this amount. Loss includes hardware, software, and metadata. The authors suggest that collection and standardization of computer game (or digital game) would be valuable for long term preservation of these items. Also, coordination between those in the industry on preservation efforts would be beneficial, along with establishing criteria on how to determine which games are most significant.
Hoeven, J. (2007). Dioscuri: emulator for digital preservation. D-Lib Magazine, 13(11/12). Retrieved from http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november07/11inbrief.html#VANDERHOEVEN
Hoeven’s article describes the uses and functionality of the Discouri emulator. Discouri is a modular emulator used for digital preservation. It is built on a virtual layer referred to a Virtual Machine (VM). The VM makes Discouri a flexible product that has been used with PC, Apple, and Sun computers. The component-based architecture imitates the functions of hardware components referred to as modules. Discouri runs 16-bit operating systems like MS-DOS and is of particular interest to digital game curators as it is capable of running many retro DOS-games.
Horodyski, J. (2006). Making metadata work in digital asset management and video game production. Journal of Digital Asset Management, 2(5), 255-261. Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.wayne.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=22980346&site=eds-live&scope=site
Horodyski writes that developing a core set of metadata standards is key when creating a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system. He uses video game production as an example of the importance of developing file naming conventions and structured vocabularies in digital curation. He continues with a proposed structured vocabulary for digital assets in video games. Horodyski concludes with an examination of the complexities of creating metadata for 3D models, textures, and concept art. Digital curators will find Horodyski’s article useful as a model for creating controlled vocabularies for digital games and curating them in a Digital Asset Management system.
Humphrey, M. C. (2012). Digital domino effect: The erosion of first sale protection for video games and the implications for ownership of copies and phonorecords [article]. Southwestern Law Review, (2), 441.
This article focuses on the first sale doctrine and how it relates to video games. Video games were originally protected under the first sale doctrine but this has changed. Because video games are moving from physical to digital copies, first sale is becoming even less relevant. The Video game industry tends to be more about releasing new games or offering new digital downloads of selected retro games, rather than preserving games from the past. It is recommended by the authors that copyright exhaustion be considered as a solution for video games, which would allow for similar protection to fair use and would allow for personal or archival copies to be made.
Jakubčo, P., & Šimoňák, S. (2012). Utilizing GPGPU in Computer Emulation. Journal Of Information & Organizational Sciences, 36(1), 39-53. Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.wayne.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=llf&AN=85498627&site=eds-live&scope=site
Jakubčo and Šimoňák deliver a very technical article about using GPGPU technology in computer emulation to deliver performance improvements. They cover stream processing in computer emulation and propose the structure and technique for an emulator. The article ends with a case study examining the RAM machine emulator. The benefits of using the RAM machine emulator is that the development of gaming software emulators can move at a faster pace because it is not dependent on hardware development. Engineers can validate/verify software before the hardware is ready and the cost of the validation/verification is reduced because engineers can run validation tests on their PCs instead of sharing a hardware prototype.
Landgraf, G. (2011). Preserving bits. American Libraries, 42(11/12), 45-45.
The focus of this article is on the Library of Congress’ video game collection. The library has received around ten percent of the video games that have been created. They also preserve the materials that came with the games, promotional materials and game guides. Storing and cataloging the games has raised some issues, as have digitally born games. Because the games and materials were not created for longevity, the library is designed to help to slow the deterioration of these items. The massive amount of games released and the number of formats available makes collecting them an additional challenge. The library hopes to be able to make the games available to the public for use in the future. They hope that other libraries will also preserve video games.
Laskowski, M., & Ward, D. (2009). Perspectives on...: Building next generation video game collections in academic libraries. Journal Of Academic Librarianship, 35(3), 267-273.
Academic libraries are excellent places for video game collections. The authors state that the majority of college students play video games. Scholarly conferences are being conducted about video gaming. They also point out two prestigious grants that are aimed at encouraging video game preservation. Because of the growing acceptance of video games in the scholarly community, academic libraries should have support from faculty, administration and students. An academic library’s collection would allow access to titles that might not be available otherwise. Video games present a unique challenge because multiple formats exist at the same time and soon become obsolete or out of print. Gaming technology also presents a problem because many PC games cannot be loaded on multiple computers at the same time. The article recommends buying games in as many formats as the budget allows ensuring better access to the largest number of people.
Lee, S., Willis, B., Bourne Jr., J.S., & Fox, E.A. (2010). Entertainment history museums in virtual worlds: Video games and music preservation in Second Life. Proceedings of the 10th Annual Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL 2010). doi: 10.1145/1816123.1816202
This presentation touches on the idea of using the popular virtual game Second Life to digitally preserve parts of video games and music. It gives the example of a character first seen in 1994’s Warcraft I which has now transformed into a character in Second Life. The character and the digital representation can be preserved through Second Life. Also, within Second Life, various music and musical instruments are heard or seen throughout the game. The digital surrogate of an instrument and the digital music file can be preserved through Second Life.
Lowood, H. (2011). Perfect Capture: Three takes on replay, machinima and the history of virtual worlds. Journal of Visual Culture, 10(1), 113-124. doi: 10.1177/1470412910391578
This is a thorough article which aims to delve deeper into the mechanisms and humanism behind the preservation of digital games. It is important to preserve not only the file data but the social data surrounding machinima and virtual worlds. Using recording devices to capture and preserve gaming activities can help future gamers and preservationists. Virtual worlds like Second Life give us insight into the minds, hopes, and dreams of humans today. These attributes will be interesting for future researchers of historical virtual worlds.
Lowood, H. (Ed.). (2009, March). Before it’s too late: a digital game preservation white paper of the Game Preservation Special Interest Group, International Game Developers Association. Retrieved from: http://wiki.igda.org/Game_Preservation_SIG/White_Paper/Before_It's_Too_Late:_A_Digital_Game_Preservation_White_Paper
This white paper addresses the International Game Developers Association directly and warns them of the fact that digital games quickly become obsolete and are many times lost due to lack of preservation. Game developers are advised that if they do not integrate preservation steps into their game development, that their developments are almost pointless. Games are not being systematically preserved; rather they are only preserved in hindsight. The paper provides examples of games that have been lost or which are very rare to find. It also provides preservation guidelines and possible solutions.
McDonough, J. (2011). Packaging Videogames for Long-Term Preservation: Integrating FRBR and the OAIS Reference Model. Journal of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 62(1), 171-184. Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.wayne.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=55643115&site=eds-live&scope=site
In this article McDonough explains how Archival Information Packages for digital games can be developed through the integration of the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records and the Open Archival Information System reference model. He describes how the preserving Virtual Worlds project has been integrating FRBR and the OAIS model within a single Web ontology. McDonough also discusses how the new ontology will be used with multiple XML packaging formats such as METS and OAI-ORE RDF/XML.
McDonough, J., Olendorf, R., Kirschenbaum, M., Kraus, K., Reside, D., Donahue, R., Phelps, A., Egert, C., Lowood, H., & Rojo, S. (2011, August). Preserving Digital Worlds (Research Report) [PDF]. Retrieved November 4, 2013, from https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/17097
The authors of this article explored several cases in which others have attempted to preserve video games in order to see where they succeeded and failed and then evaluated various preservation strategies for video games. They also looked at some of the challenges of preserving video games, such as legal and intellectual property barriers, and the difficulties in preserving not just the code of the video game but the hardware necessary to run the code. The authors call for various institutions, such as the Library of Congress, to take part in preserving video games as part of society's cultural heritage.
McDonough, J. & Olendorf, R. (2011). Saving Second Life: Issues in archiving a complex, multi-user virtual world. International Journal of Digital Curation, 6(2). Retrieved from http://www.ijdc.net/index/ijdc/article/view/185
This article is a case study of the efforts to preserve the Second Life virtual gaming world. It is a part of the Preserving Virtual Worlds project in collaboration with the Linden Lab. Games similar to Second Life were also studied during this project. McDonough and Olendorf also discuss the project’s efforts to archive specific regions from Second Life. The project hopes to preserve both the virtual environment and the interactive nature of the game. Contained in this article is the project’s methodology for obtaining permission to archive the material, creating preservation metadata, and harvesting and preserving digital objects.
Monnens, D., Armstrong, A., Ruggill, J., McAllister, K., Vowell, Z., & Donahue, R. (2009). Before it's too late: A digital game preservation white paper. International Game Developers Association. Retrieved from https://apps.lis.illinois.edu/wiki/download/attachments/3736446/IGDA_Game_Preservation_SIG_-_Before_It's_Too_Late_-_A_Digital_Game_Preservation_White_Paper.pdf.
The authors of this article discuss various ideas relating to videogame preservation. It is important that copyright issues be resolved or modified so it is legal to migrate data from decaying formats for preservation purposes. Cooperation must be developed between the industry and the archive, so there can be an understanding of what and why preservation is necessary and important. The authors also discuss why games should be preserved and what parts of them, possible outcomes if nothing is done to preserve, for example, source code of unpublished games, published games, and ephemera, and establishes a need for new possible solution to the preservation problem.
Newman, J. (2013). Illegal deposit: Game preservation and/as software piracy. Convergence: The Journal Of Research Into New Media Technologies, 19(1), 45-61. doi:10.1177/1354856512456790
In this article the author looks at video game piracy and/or how it helps and hinders preservation. Many of the practices that video game developers have instituted to prevent hackers from pirating their games make it difficult for archivists to preserve the games. The use of emulators and ROMs to play games on a different format than they were originally developed on would make it easier for the content of games to be preserved. Illegal copies of games stored on the internet are some of the best archival collections in existence. The author suggests collaboration between archivists, game producers and players is necessary to ensure the future preservation of video games.
Newman, J. (2012). Ports and patches: Digital games as unstable objects. Convergence: The Journal Of Research Into New Media Technologies, 18(2), 135-142. doi:10.1177/1354856511433688
Video games are difficult to preserve because they are constantly changing, according to this article. Games often undergo patches to change content or playability. Video games are often ported, which means changing consoles and formats. There are a number of organizations studying how to preserve video games and prevent “media decay and bit rot.” Ownership is an additional consideration for preserving games as players can influence the game by how they play, giving them partial ownership of the game. The author uses the Sonic the Hedgehog game series as an example.
Newman, J. (2011). (Not) playing games: Player-produced walkthroughs as archival documents of digital gameplay. International Journal of Digital Curation, 6(2), 109-127.
This piece from the UK, which centers on the UK’s National Videogame Archive (NVA), stresses the importance of preserving gameplay as well as the games themselves. As the desire to preserve virtual worlds becomes more widespread, the NVA has become a key player in this endeavor. They focus more on the human aspect of gaming and game preservation rather than just on the technical components of the game. The article outlines how player-produced walkthroughs are part of the larger preservation package of games. Player input into a game can provide the gaming and preservation world a different perspective of the game. The cultural and human element of gameplay is just as necessary to preserve as the virtual object.
Newman, J. (2009). Save the video game! The National Video Game Archive: preservation, supersession and obsolescence. M/C Journal, 12(3), 8. Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.wayne.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=47659955&site=eds-live&scope=site
The authors of this article herald the opening of the U.K.'s National Videogame Archive and discuss why preserving video games is important in light of the fact that video games are disappearing rapidly. Because video games are so prevalent these days—from iPhone games to online games available only through services such as Steam—it is hard to imagine that they are disappearing, but the technology is changing so rapidly that games are quickly becoming obsolete and disappearing before anyone even thinks about preserving them. The authors argue that video games are an important part of our culture and that we should be preserving them before individual game are gone for good. Even individual copies of games that are not stored online are disappearing because of the "pre-owned" marketplace. Old video games can be traded in for cash and new ones purchased with the money, so players do not keep video games long-term the way that consumers often keep other products. This makes it even more difficult to find copies of older games that can be preserved.
O’Brien, T. (2011). Switched’s comprehensive guide to video game emulators. Switched. Retrieved from http://www.switched.com/video-game-emulators/switched-ultimate-guide-retro-gaming/
The author of this article discusses the basics of how to use video game emulators. Emulation is a popular preservation strategy for video games, although the author of the article discusses the topic because many gamers use emulators to recreate the experience of playing older video games. The author explains which emulators work best for various popular video games that are no longer playable on most modern machines. He also discusses some of the copyright issues associated with using emulators and states that it is only legal to use an emulator if the player first owns the copy of the game that he or she is emulating and only if he or she uses the emulator solely for personal play, rather than selling it.
Risen, C. (2010, March). Pac Rat: the fight to preserve videogames from bit rot, obsolescence and cultural oblivion. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/03/pac-rat/7911/.
This author discusses the importance of videogame preservation. He highlights key players in the industry today such as the various archives and museums. The author also discusses the consortium between Maryland, Stanford, Illinois, Michigan, and Rochester Institute of Technology, the Library of Congress, and Linden Labs, in which they began developing standards for preserving videogames and virtual worlds. The primary issues faced are time, funding, and copyrights.
Robson, D., & Durkee, P. (2012). New directions for academic video game collections: Strategies for acquiring, supporting, and managing online materials. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 38(2), 79-84. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2012.01.003
The authors of this article focus on academic libraries' recent switch from preserving just console video games for future generations to giving their patrons access to more modern video games and how they can go about doing that. This article focuses primarily on developing collections of video games rather than preserving them, but it does touch on the preservation issue. In addition, curation of video games is an important preamble to preserving them. The authors point out that it is easier than ever to give students access to video games because so many of them are now available online, but because libraries would not be hosting the games themselves, they would most likely have no way to preserve access to those games. So the rapidly changing way that video games are offered make them more available to patrons in the short-term (because they're available online) but make it more difficult to ensure that patrons can access those games in the long-term (because libraries do not have the access they need to preserve the games).
Rothenberg, J. (2002). Preservation of the times. Information Management Journal, 36(2), 38-43. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/docview/57520247?accountid=14925
In this article Rothenberg discusses the challenges of preserving and interpreting the original bitstream of digitally born objects. He outlines current methods for preserving digital artifacts including migrating to current formats, leaving data for digital archeologists to decipher, replacing artifacts with formal descriptions, and emulation. The article ends with an overview of the advantages of preserving a digital artifact through emulation and an explanation of Chained and Rehosted Emulation. The methods outlined by Rothenberg are currently being applied to the preservation of digital games by digital curators.
Spare the mod: In support of total-conversion modified video games. (2012). Harvard Law Review, 125(3), 789-810.
The author examines how video game mods benefit game companies and should have legal protection. Modding a game is taking parts of the game and stripping them from the original engine. A total conversion mod is taking every part of the game and removing it, then using the engine for new material. Video game manufacturers have allowed this when it benefits them by incorporating user content into games. Modding also allows new content to keep games fresh and adds to shelf life. The article states that this should then be considered fair use or else a non-derivative work. Some game mods have become as popular as the original games themselves. The implications of this article are that if altering video games is considered fair use, then archivist will be able to create ROMs to preserve games in a standard format. Additionally, game mods themselves may deserve attention as historically significant video games worthy of preservation.
Swalwell, M. (2009). Towards the preservation of local computer game software. Convergence: The Journal of Research Into New Media Technologies, 15(3), 263. doi:10.1177/1354856509105107
This article discusses the history of digital games in New Zealand and addresses the preservation of titles from the 1980s. The article looks at how games are preserved and how it applies to local game software, such as the games from New Zealand. It also explores a single case in which emulation did not work and translation from BASIC to Java was required to preserve the game. However, that resulted in some changes to the games, and so the authors look at the importance of staying true to the original as much as is possible.
Swalwell, M. (2007). The remembering and the forgetting of early digital games: From novelty to Detritus and back again. Journal Of Visual Culture, 6(2), 255-273. doi:10.1177/1470412907078568
The author states that the way that people see video games has changed over time. First they were a new, exciting thing. Video games were originally a part of popular culture when they first came out. They were found in social places such as restaurants and bars. Later games were seen as garbage media produced for youth. The author found that there was little interest in systematic preservation of video games due to this viewpoint. Retro games have begun to gain popularity again as people look back at items from their childhood with fondness. Because of this, individuals are preserving video games in their personal collections and companies are rereleasing retro games that have been previously out of print. Most preservation that he saw was being done by individuals, however these collectors may not know preservation practices and the materials may be unintentionally destroyed because of this. Without professional interest, video games, especially the less popular ones that will not be rereleased, may be lost to time.
Tappeiner, E., & Lyons, C. (2008). Selection criteria for academic video game collections. Collection Building, 27(3), 121-125.
This article focuses on what to look for when selecting video games for academic libraries. The four main factors that it recommends considering are the physical format, its educational value, its subject contents and its perceived importance in history or culture. When selecting games, the buyer needs to consider the format to ensure that the game can be played. If the library is collecting consoles as well, they need to consider extras such as controllers, memory cards and adapters. Some video games are already considered classics and the author argues that you can tell these games from lists that others have created or by games that video game producers have chosen to rerelease in newer formats due to their popularity. While there is debate about the importance of studying and preserving video games, academic libraries need to start these collections now to allow access to these games as resources or tools to be studied to help further the debate.
Von Suchodoletz, D., & Van Der Hoeven, J. (2009). Emulation: From digital artefact to remotely rendered environments. International Journal of Digital Curation, 4(3), 146-155.
The authors in this article focus on emulation as a key strategy to preserving digital content, such as games; however, they believe that it is necessary to have more information in order to properly preserve the artifact. Dependencies on hardware and software should be preserved, along with more detailed metadata on the object. The authors suggest the use of the Preservation Layer Model (PLM), which will help with management of the metadata and also introduces view paths that show combinations of hardware, software, and file formats that can help archivists during the digital curation/preservation process. Another point developed in the article is that the original software needs to be preserved due to the fact that it is a key component of emulation.
Wagner, L. (2011). METS: A Survey of Recent Literature and Applications. Library Philosophy & Practice, 148-154. Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.wayne.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=llf&AN=77410642&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Lindsey Wagner’s article gives a general overview of the METS metadata standard beginning with an introduction of its use development. She then outlines METS elements and subsections. Wagner covers the advantages and disadvantages of METS’ flexibility and explores literature that explains how federated searching can be possible if a rigid standard for METS is created. Wagner discusses various uses of METS by information professionals including the use of PREMIS in METS to describe digital objects, the exportation of metadata using METS and OAI-PMH, and using METS for archiving e-Journals. She ends with the inclusion of recent literature that address how a crosswalk can be created using a XSLT engine to transform a METS document into an IMS-CP document. The use of PREMIS in METS is applicable to digital game software as a way to package complex digital objects for curation.
Watson, D. (2012). Preserving videogames for posterity. Multimedia Information & Technology, 38(2), 30-31. Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.wayne.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=llf&AN=76921116&site=ehost-live&scope=site
In this article David Watson discusses the efforts of The British Library and the National Video Game Archive to preserve video games Watson explores the cultural and technological significance of videogames and video game tie-ins. He lightly touches on hardware preservation, but mainly covers the use of emulators, MAME, in particular, by cultural institutions.
Winget, M.A. (2011). Videogame preservation and massively multiplayer online role-playing games: A review of the literature. Journal of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 62(10), 1869-1883. doi: 10.1002/asi.21530
In this article, the author reviews the literature on video game preservation. She looks at the difficulties in preserving the games, especially those surrounding the fact that they're digital and yet require a great deal of compatible hardware. The author looks specifically at massively multiplayer online role-playing games and the challenges behind preserving them. He suggests that more work needs to be done to preserve data about the games and the way that players interact with the games and with each other within the context of the games.
Winget, M., & Murray, C. (2009). Collecting and preserving videogames and their related materials: A review of current practice, game-related archives and research projects. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 45(1), 1-9.
This article reviews the current process used to preserve videogames, which consist of refreshing, migration, emulation, and re-interpretation. The authors criticize the first three methods stating that they all focus on the end product rather that looking at the creative process used to develop the game. The point being made is that preservation must begin with creation. The authors also evaluate current archives and museums and their current collections, along with various research initiatives focused on videogame preservation.
Yeo, G. (2010). ‘Nothing is the same as something else’: Significant properties and notions of identity and originality. Archival Science, 10(2), 85-116.
The author is concerned with the fine line that is drawn between original and copied documents in the digital form. The issue of migrating data is discussed, and the author feels that when something is migrated, it is no longer identical to the previous document and therefore is not actually preserved, but rather kept for accessibility purposes. The fear by many is that if the original is not migrated, it will be lost due to media damage or changes in formats. However, in the future, these migrated objects will become the new original and the primary concern with migration is determining which documents should be or are important enough to be migrated.
Zabolitzky, J.G. (2002, September 13). Preserving software: How and why. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Software History, Retrieved from http://www.cbi.umn.edu/iterations/zabolitzky.html.
The author in this article is stressing the importance of preserving software. He believes that properly preserving software is essential to preserving hardware, and for the future of technology. Software preservation does not have to be a difficult task, but rather it can be quite simple. The software mediums are not as important as the source code and object code, because if preserved properly, the software can be recreated based upon these codes rather than attempting to preserve the physical mediums. The author believes the primary issue with software preservation will be gaining legal access to it.
